Larissa blocked her thoughts and the older female flinched. “Easy.” She rubbed her temple. “That’s quite a jab you have.” She removed her bonnet, revealing a head of spiked red hair.
Such short hair was uncommon among the Amish, and Larissa couldn’t help but stare as Adriel dragged a hand over her head, further mussing the jagged mess.
“I brought you some toiletries, a new gown, which, looking at you, may be a bit too short, and a sandwich.” She held up the cloth-wrapped food, and Larissa almost ripped it out of her hands.
Unraveling the material, she shoved the bread and meat into her mouth. “Thank you. I’m starving.”
“I figured as much.” Lifting the pile of clothes, she lowered to the chair.
Larissa hesitated and watched her, unsure if Eleazar would mind the female in his house.
“Child, I’m Eleazar’s friend. You can trust me. No one else knows I’m here, and I’ve told no one of your presence.”
Larissa took another bite of the sandwich. “Thank you for the food. And the clothing.”
“Being that Eleazar and I share a long history, I expect you and I will also become companions.” Leaning forward, she cupped a hand at the side of her mouth and confided, “He’s overdue for a wife.”
Larissa swallowed the last bite and shook her head. “I’m not his wife.”
Waving her words away, Adriel rolled her emerald eyes. “Silus is a rodent. Eleazar will see your marriage to him dissolved. And the moment he does, you will become Larissa King, wife to the bishop, and a respected female among The Order.”
Her lips firmed. “Only because of my marriage.”
The older female studied her for a moment. “Who cares where power comes from so long as you possess the confidence to wield it. No other female will have the bishop’s ear. But not only that, as his mate, you have his devotion. He’s a decent male, one who, I believe, can see reason and the value of change.”
She’d heard rumors of Adriel Schrock and sensed she was being recruited into some sort of campaign. “I’m not comfortable advising the bishop on issues that don’t involve me.”
“The bishop? How sweet you are to regard him as your authority still. Do not underestimate your worth, child. You are marrying the patriarch of The Order. That makes you our matriarch, the neck that supports and directs the head of our society. The females of The Order will seek audience with you, as you—more than anyone else—can impact our future. You enchant him.”
Larissa laughed. “I assure you, Eleazar is quite capable of telling me no.”
“Denying one’s mate is a very difficult thing to do.”
She studied the woman, almost certain that she lived alone in her house. From what Larissa could recall, the female had a son, but he was much older. “Are you mated?”
The intimidating woman lowered her gaze. “I chose to leave my mate.”
“What? How? It’s impossible to ignore the call.” Larissa had agreed to bond with Eleazar because of such certainty.
“I did not ignore the call. We bonded. But then I left.”
“You left your mate?” She didn’t believe mates could tolerate distance.
“Cer was not an honorable male. When I fled, Eleazar helped me escape.”
“Your mate’s name was Sir?”
“Cer, as in Cerberus. He was named for the hounds of Hades, the demons of the pit, which is exactly what he was.”
Larissa lowered into the other chair. “He was cruel to you?”
“Immortal males suffer a great deal when they’re called to their mates. Cer resented the sense that he was indebted to a female. He always viewed females as the weaker sex. Any sense of duty or servitude sent him into a rage.”
She worried her mate might also come to resent such obligation. “I don’t wish to anger the bishop.” Eleazar was ten times her age and far more powerful. “I want peace.”
“Don’t we all? That’s why we must fight for equality. We need a champion, and God has chosen you.”
“I think you’ll be disappointed. I’m not anyone’s champion. I’m just a female immortal who wants a quiet life.”
“Eleazar tells me you share his passion.”
Larissa blushed, memories of their intimacy rising the internal temperature of her blood.
“He also tells me you somehow managed to knock him out—twice.”
“That was an accident.”
“No, child. That was God’s gift. I always believed if Eleazar were called, his mate would possess incredible strength. You’re split from the same soul, destined to complete each other and equal by design.”
Larissa shook her head. “I have no control over my abilities.”
“You’re a mirror of his strength. Whatever he throws at you, be it passion or power, you reflect it right back. You’re a key meant to unlock his destiny and he is the key that will unlock yours.”
Larissa mulled over Adriel’s words in the hours after she left. She never considered herself powerful, but she was also very young. To think this other side of her existed was to think of herself as a secret left untold. She found herself curiously awaiting any clues that might prove the wise female right.